Helse Førde Art project

As Far As You Can See

Curated by Kristine K Wessel, Kulturbyrået Mesén Oslo.
Kunst consultant Helse Førde: Saskia Burleson.
For: Helse Førde Livabygget, barne-og kvinne avdeling.

Animation (day- and nighttime videoloop) with sound installation.

In commission of Helse Førde and curated by Kulturbyrået Mesén I have made an animation for an artwork that consists of a 3 screen video and sound installation with animation, wallpaper design throughout 2 hallways and an outdoor Gobo projection that can be seen from the window of the 5th floor.
All the elements are connected together as one whole artwork.

This art project is strongly inspired by the beautiful surroundings of Førde and the Norwegian local painter Nikolai Astrup (1880-1928).
The work contains many medicinal plants for women’s health. For example the passionflower, cranberries and yarrow. And my attachment and memories of to certain plants and flowers that I learned about during my childhood.
 
The images in the animation, on the wallpaper and in the outdoor projection are mixed with my own memories of the birth of my own children in the hospital and the vulnerability you feel as a new mother when you are at the beginning of a small new life of which you do not yet know how it will continue. And all the mixed emotions that float through your being during this intense moment after the birth while you are inside the hospital walls.
 
I have often imagined how the expectant mothers would stand in front of the animation, watching the movements in the landscape while listening to the sweet whispering sounds of Mari Kvien Brunvoll coming from the sound shower above their heads. But also to the women who are worried about their children in the hospital or worried about their own health.
This is for all of you.
 

Title: ”As Far as You Can See”

Simone Hooymans. 2024
Special effects and second animator Hans Pulles
3-channel animation with sound shower
Sound: Mari Kvien Brunvoll
Wallpaper
Gobo outdoor projection

 

“As Far as You Can See” introduces a double-layered reality to the viewer. With a 3-channel animation plus sound installation, wallpaper throughout the corridors of the hospital and a gobo projection outdoors, the piece begins with floral wallpaper growing and spreading. A long breath blows an opening into another world unfolding from underneath. Soft rustling sounds move us from a sense of home and protection toward an eternal landscape.
There, plants remind us of paintings and experiences from the past. Within an almost symphonic sweep of landscape, “As Far as You Can See” creates a moment of silence in ourselves and gives us the freedom to wander and explore the new.

Information on: https://www.helse-forde.no/kunst/livabygget/